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Do you have a car question?
Contact John Paul

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Have you ever heard of a mechanic being a ble to charge a "shop supply fee"? Is this legal? A local chain store replaced the brakes on my car and there was a strange $39 fee on my bill. I questioned the charge and was told that by law they are allowed to charge an 8% fee (up to $39) for shop supplies. When I asked what supplies, I didn’t get much of an answer. I have never had this fee charged by any other garage. Is it fair and legal?
Some garages will charge a “shop supply” fee as a percentage of the total bill. This fee is in theory to cover aerosol cleaners, lu bricants, hardware and other day-to-day supplies to perform repairs. Some shops look at these costs as traditional overhead and others prefer to add it to the invoice as a percentage of the repair. In any case, if shop supplies are itemized or not, you the customer are paying for them. These are the costs associated with doing business. There is no law in Massachusetts that allows or prohi bits adding a fee onto a bill. Although there is a law that requires all fees to be clearly posted. This is done so the customer is aware of any additional charges. If the fee wasn’t posted you could call the Attorney General’s Office and report the garage.

We have a 2006 Pacifica that has gone through three driver’s side low beam headlamps in relatively quick succession. All of the other bul bs in the vehicle are original.  The first lasted six months, the next lasted five months, and the most recent lasted three weeks!  All the replacement bul bs were Heliolite brand standard halogen bul bs; size H7, purchased from a local shop. The most recent one failed spectacularly, exploding in the headlight enclosure and sending shards of hot glass and strings of plastic (looks like spider we b) throughout the enclosure. I am scrupulously careful not to touch the glass of these bul bs with anything during the installation process.  Any idea what may be causing this?  I have since replaced the last bul b with a Sylvania bul b and so far so good but it has only been a couple of days.

I am not personally familiar with the Heliote brand, however doing a little research on the we b it appears this company manufacturers bul bs from several outside sources in Korea. My experience in the past is that some import bul bs have very poor life (although more than two weeks). You are correct the most common cause of bul b failure is contamination from oil transferred from your skin during installation. Although in this case it may not necessarily you, but it also could be a contamination during the assem bly process. The second most common pro blem is poor electrical connections or a pro blem with the charging system. The computer control module acts as the voltage regulator for the charging system. A technician with a volt-meter should be a ble to determine if the charging system is operating properly. If everything is okay it is possi ble the Sylvania bul b may solve the pro blem.
I have a 1999 VW Passat, after disconnecting the battery a couple of times to charge it, the check engine light came on and I started having a pro blem with a lack of power. I took it to a shop, and they couldn't figure out what the pro blem is can you help me? I found out later that VW recommends not disconnecting the battery.
At this point you need to start with a “scan” of the cars computer system to see what triggered the check engine light. Once you have an engine code it should help with the diagnosis. As for disconnecting the battery, providing you follow Volkswagens procedures there shouldn’t be a pro blem with disconnecting the battery for routine service. Although if you are disconnecting the battery to charge it on a regular basis the vehicles charging system as well as the battery should be checked.

My Volvo has had a pro blem with the air conditioner. The pro blem is all the parts seem to work okay but, the air coming out of the dash is warm. I have had two different people look at it and both can’t find a pro blem. One thing that I have noticed is the outside temperature indicator always reads minus 10 degrees. No one I have talked to thinks this temperature indicator is related to the air conditioner not working. Do you think there is a connection?

In most cars there is no connection between the outside temperature indicator and the climate control system. Although in certain model Volvo’s this is not the case. Recently I came across a Volvo Cross Country that the climate control would not work until the am bient air temperature sensor was replaced. Once the sensor was replaced the climate control functioned normally.
*Our Territory: AAA Southern New England proudly serves members in Rhode Island and the following counties in Connecticut: New Haven,
Fairfield and Litchfield, and in Massachusetts: Bristol, Middlesex, Worcester, Berkshire, Plymouth, Suffolk, Barnstable, and Norfolk.
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